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Assayii Lake Fire increases to 13,250 acres

Crews: Volunteers serve meals hundreds of firefighters on front lines

By Noel Lyn Smith The Daily Times

Updated:
06/18/2014 10:32:32 PM MDT

Socorro firefighters, Chase Dixon, third from left, and Ortega Apachito, far right, receive their dinners on Wednesday at the East Spike Camp set up at Newcomb Elementary School in Newcomb. The men battled the Assayii Lake Fire on Wednesday, which grew to more than 13,000 acres. (Jon Austria — The Daily Times)

NEWCOMB — Silver serving spoons laid on top of large, white containers that held food for the 250 firefighters stationed at the East Spike Camp at Newcomb's elementary and high schools.

Ten members of the Navajo Scouts Camp Crew completed prep work on Wednesday before firefighters working on the Assayii Lake Fire arrived for dinner. Crew members repeatedly said the word "béésh," which means knife in the Navajo language, as they opened boxes to unveil the white containers with food.

Nearly 700 personnel worked on the blaze Wednesday, including 19 crews, 21 engines, nine helicopters and three dozers.

From left, Navajo Scouts Ferlando Smith, Johnson Gray and Gilbert Yazzie unload boxes on Wednesday at Newcomb Elementary School in Newcomb. The crew members served dinner for the 250 firefighters stationed at the East Spike Camp as they fight the Assayii Lake Fire. (Jon Austria — The Daily Times)

As of Wednesday morning, the fire had burned 13,250 acres since starting on Friday in the Ch'ooshgai Mountains on the Navajo Nation. A Wednesday morning update from the Southwest Area Incident Management Team 3 stated it was still zero percent contained.

The fire has affected forest lands in the Crystal and Naschitti chapters. About 50 residences were threatened on Wednesday, and four structures have been destroyed, though the incident management team cautions that is not a firm number.

At the East Spike Camp, the food arrived at about 7 p.m., and the first fire crew followed at 7:30 p.m.

After arriving at the cafeteria, the firefighters immediately walked to the restrooms, cleaned up and then were served dinner.

Rhodina Tsosie, crew boss of the Hopi 1 Initial Attack team from Kykotsmovi Village, Ariz., arrived with the 20-man crew after working on the north side of the fire. Crews completed hot spot work, removing debris, chasing spot fires and putting in hand lines — a tool used to suppress the fire.

"It's pretty rough, thick terrain, a lot of dead and down vegetation," Tsosie said, adding that what helped the crew was coming across areas that were prescribed burned in previous years.

Jared Thornburg and Roverty Sterret, with the Farmington Fire Department, work on their truck on Wednesday at Newcomb Elementary School. (Jon Austria — The Daily Times)

With the crew working more than eight hours, they look forward to "a hot meal" and "a good place to sleep" at the end of the day, she said.

"Most of the guys, they call home and check on their families," she said.

According to Wednesday morning's update from the incident management team, firefighters on Wednesday planned to construct a direct line on the fire's western side and a dozer line on the east side, all while assessing the fire's southern perimeter and protecting the communication tower on the north side.

By Wednesday afternoon, the blaze reached about five miles west of U.S. Highway 491 in the Naschitti Chapter.

Jared Thornburg, the engine boss with the Farmington Fire Department, is one of three fire personnel the city sent to fight the fire, along with one bush truck.

Rhodina Tsosie, a crew boss with the Hopi 1 Initial Attack team from Kykotsmovi Village, Ariz., waits on Wednesday for dinner at the East Spike Camp at Newcomb Elementary School. (Jon Austria — The Daily Times)

"Today's been better because the weather cooperated," Thornburg said. "Less winds and a little bit cooler."

The crew has been providing services since Monday, and they supported hot shot crews with water and worked on spot fires.

Both Tsosie and Thornburg said the firefighter crews appreciate the outpouring of support and donations from various communities.

A typical day for the 250 firefighters at the East Spike Camp starts at 5 a.m. and ends at 10 p.m., said Aaron Ernsberger, base camp manager with the Southwest Area Incident Management Team 3.

This June 17, 2014 handout photo provided by the Navajo Times shows the Assayii Lake Fire raging out of control at the ridge of the Chuska Mountains, west of Naschitti. (AP Photo — Navajo Times, Donovan Quintero)

Breakfast and dinner are served inside Newcomb Elementary School, while sleeping accommodations are at Newcomb High School. Firefighters also receive sack lunches, and 20 gallons of coffee is typically brewed.

Two additional camps have been established — the Crystal Spike in Crystal and the Incident Command Post in Fort Defiance, Ariz.

Food is catered and then delivered from the incident command post. Among the items on Wednesday's dinner menu were chicken, potatoes, vegetables, tofu, dinner rolls and garbanzo stew. Beverages of iced tea, hot water and raspberry lemonade arrived in octagon-shaped cardboard containers.

Breakfast on Wednesday was sausage patties, eggs, potatoes and cream of wheat while Tuesday's main dish was tacos.